“We’re all appreciative of the fact that Senator Flanagan has done a great job as an advocate for schools on Long Island,” Feller said, but he noted, “There’s nothing like having that direct connection to the person who actually represents you.”

Assemblyman David McDonough, another Merrick Republican who served in the Legislature alongside Fuschillo for almost 12 years, stressed that constituents can still contact Fuschillo’s former office, which remains open and staffed, and that he is willing to stand in for the former senator when appropriate.